Posted by Nydia Streets of Streets Law in Florida Divorce

What is a partition in a Florida divorce? This means the parties are asking the court to apportion to each their respective ownership interest in real property they jointly own since the property cannot physically be awarded to the parties in parts. Who pays attorneys’ fees for this? A dispute about payment of fees came up in the case Vergne v. Glidewell, 4D19-444 (Fla. 4th DCA November 13, 2019).

The parties were granted a final judgment of divorce but continued to live together in their jointly-owned marital property after the divorce. Eventually, the former wife forced the former husband to leave the home, after which the former husband sought a partition of the property. At trial, the parties agreed to partition the property, and the court awarded each a 50% interest in the proceeds of the sale of the home. The former husband asked for payment of his attorneys’ fees and costs incurred in pursuit of the partition, and the court made the former wife 100% responsible for those fees. The former wife, of course, appealed.

On appeal, the appellate court relied on Florida Statute 64.081 which states “Every party shall be bound by the judgment to pay a share of the costs, including attorneys' fees to plaintiff's or defendant's attorneys or to each of them commensurate with their services rendered and of benefit to the partition, to be determined on equitable principles in proportion to the party's interest.” According to this statute which controls partitions, the former wife should only be responsible for 50% of the fees which is proportionate to her ownership interest. The court additionally noted “Although the statute notes that equitable principles also govern, the trial court failed to give any reasons for directing the wife to pay more than 50% of the attorney's fees and costs.”

Partition may be an issue in your Florida divorce case. Schedule a consultation with a Miami divorce lawyer to understand why and how a partition may be applied to your divorce matter.